Press Release Details

Open Invention Network Extends Patent Non-Aggression Community with 600th Licensee

October 16, 2013

Durham, NC (October 16, 2013) – Open Invention Network (OIN), a collaborative enterprise that enables innovation in open source and an increasingly vibrant ecosystem around Linux, announced today that it has surpassed the milestone of 600 members in its patent non-aggression community.

“Since our formation, in addition to dramatically growing the number of participants in the OIN community, we have thoughtfully expanded the scope of our Linux System definition and developed important programs like Linux Defenders,” said Keith Bergelt, CEO of Open Invention Network. “We will continue to improve as we fulfill our mission of providing Linux and open source developers, distributors and users the freedom to innovate and operate.”

As a service improvement for prospective OIN community members, OIN recently added an electronic signature service that allows for an authorized officer to review the OIN license agreement and sign it online. For those that are interested in joining the OIN community, please visit OIN’s electronic signature service at http://licenses.openinventionnetwork.com/.

Open Invention Network’s value as a driver of patent non-aggression is demonstrated by its ever growing community – from technology industry stalwarts like Juniper Networks, LG, Cisco and Google, to social media companies like Wikimedia and Twitter to cloud computing vendors such as MariaDB, Salesforce.com and Rackspace. OIN’s intellectual property encompasses areas that include big data and analytics, cloud computing, smart mobile devices and mobile broadband, Software-Defined Networking, and social networking, among many others.

Patents owned by Open Invention Network are licensed royalty-free to any company, institution or individual that agrees not to assert its patents against the Linux System. The Open Invention Network license can be reviewed and signed online at http://licenses.openinventionnetwork.com/.

About Open Invention Network
Open Invention Network is a collaborative enterprise that enables innovation in open source and an increasingly vibrant ecosystem around Linux. It does this by acquiring and licensing patents, influencing behaviors and policy and protecting the integrity of the ecosystem through strategic programs such as Linux Defenders. OIN enables the growth and continuation of open source software by fostering a healthy Linux ecosystem of investors, vendors, developers and users.

Open Invention Network has considerable industry backing. It was launched in 2005, and its investors include IBM, NEC, Novell, Philips, Red Hat and Sony. OIN has received supplemental financial support from Canonical and Google. For more information, visit http://www.openinventionnetwork.com.

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Open Invention Network, the Open Invention Network logo, Linux Defenders, Linux Defenders 911 and the Linux Defenders 911 logo are registered trademarks or the property of Open Invention Network, LLC. All other names and brand marks are the property of their respective holders.

As a leader in the development of intelligent automobiles, Daimler is committed to offering the highest-quality products across our portfolio. By joining the Open Invention Network, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to innovation, and supporting it with patent non-aggression in Linux.

Ralf Lamberti, Daimler

The convergence of technology and finance has resulted in an increase in PAE litigation against financial services companies involving non-financial services-related patents.

Josh DeathTD Bank

Open Invention Network, working with its members and the Linux Foundation, pulled off a coup…Break out your white hats: the good guys won….let’s offer a big round of applause to Keith Bergelt and OIN, for their perfectly executed defense of the Linux community.

Jim ZemlinHyperledger, The Linux Foundation

Blockchain technology is worth getting extremely excited about no matter what industry you are in. For anything that requires multiple layers of verification, the blockchain lets you cut out those layers. And that’s just very powerful.

Joan WarnerOxford Economics

The last thing we want in the DLT [Distributed Ledger Technology] ecosystem is as replay of the smart phone ‘patent wars’. Patent disputes are the ‘sport of kings’; it is expensive and to be avoided.

Marc KaufmanReedSmith

The ecosystem in which we operate is changing rapidly. Innovation that was once squarely housed within the community and exclusively oriented towards its collective betterment is increasingly being conducted across a growing number of companies around the world. That growth is exciting, but there is no denying that with it comes a complex array of actors and interests, some of whom may be more opportunistic in their thinking when it comes to intellectual property rights. Ensuring that permissionless innovation continues to be the driving force in our space requires an approach that not only accounts for the increasingly complex realities of today but also of tomorrow.
That is why we are taking steps to implement a defensive patent strategy.

James MurdockBlockstream

Linux and open source are critical building blocks in today’s consumer electronics. By joining the Open Invention Network, we are helping ensure the ongoing development of open solutions that directly lead to major innovations in consumer electronics products. We are pleased to be part of the Open Invention Network community.

Stephen Evans, Wolfson Microelectronics

Linux, and more broadly open source software, is a foundational technology in the desktop, mobile, networking, cloud and embedded computing environments. We are committed to open solutions that promote advances in all of the sectors that depend on advanced x86 and ARM platforms. Joining Open Invention Network is another way we are demonstrating our commitment to open innovation and collaboration.

Richard Brown, VIA Technologies

Linux is an integral part of the advanced system-on-chip (SoC) development process and is used as the development platform as well as a target operating system for many systems that our customers design. Preserving the openness of Linux is critical to the continued advancement of next-generation SoCs in both embedded applications and consumer devices.

Jim Ready, Cadence

The OIN membership supports Kontron on many levels. With our focus on building out our IoT framework, it makes perfect sense to be a part of an open source community that protects the rights of all members within the community, especially to reduce our patent risk around Linux related technology.